Between a plummeting real estate market, a worldwide recession and the election of the nation's first black president, there was a lot to talk about during the Kellogg School's fall and winter conferences.

Conference speakers sought to propose solutions, identify opportunities and offer predictions for a range of business issues.

At the Marketing Conference on Jan. 23-24, marketing scholars and practitioners explained that firms need to engage, interact and connect with customers to survive the economic downturn. During his keynote address, Rory Finlay '88, senior vice president and global chief marketing officer for Beam Global Spirits & Wine, emphasized the importance of increasing the "talkability" of brands during a recession. "We know that when people talk about a brand, the odds that they will consider using it go up," Finlay said. "Nothing is more powerful than person-to-person talk; it's genuine, trustworthy and has legs."Read the full article

During the Feb. 11 Private Equity & Venture Capital Conference, speakers acknowledged that the turn in the economy hasn't put the industry in a good position. However, "there are forced sellers of good assets because they're overleveraged," offered J.B. Pritzker, managing partner of The Pritzker Group. To get deals done, consider partnering with other firms and getting "creative," urged Andrew Marek '91, managing director of Dymas Capital Management Company. During his keynote address, Tim Draper, the founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, said that entrepreneurs shouldn't abandon their plans to launch a business. Entrepreneurs are needed to "create jobs, make lives better and rebuild the economy," he said.Read the full article

On the heels of President Barack Obama's election, speakers at the Feb. 22 Black Management Association Conference urged African-American business leaders to take advantage of this pivotal time in the nation's history. "What we have now is a crossroads in this country," said PBS political journalist Gwen Ifill, who served as the event moderator. "How do you take advantage of it? How do we reap the benefits of the sacrifices that our parents made? There's no one set of answers." Cheryle R. Jackson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, said that African-Americans should step forward and develop "a game plan that is going to drive economic sustainability." Read the full article